The Honours Project is highly recommended for students who intend to pursue a career in research. Under the direction of a Faculty member, you will have the opportunity to gain extensive practical training in current scientific techniques, review and report scientific data as well as enhance your oral and written communication skills. By opting to complete an Honours Research Project, you will contribute to the advancement of knowledge by working in an active research environment and gain the skills and experience required to continue on to higher degrees (M.Sc., Ph.D., M.D., D.Ds.) or to enter the job market.

Every departement within the Faculty of Science have different requirements depending on the program you are enrolled in. Please click here for more information regarding elligibility for the Honours program.​

Honours

Undergraduate Honours Research Project​

​​Once you have selected the labs that interest you, it's time to contact the PI via the email address or weblink provided. Before you send, make sure you check out some tips on how to write your email and make yourself stand out ​here.

Biochemistry, Microbiology & Immunology (BMI)

Below is a list of researchers from the department of Biochemistry, Microbiology & Immunology (BMI).

Alexandre Blais, PHD

Our laboratory studies how gene expression is controlled in muscle and in muscle stem cells. An aspect of particular importance is the role played by transcription factors and how they interact with the epigenetic machinery. There are multiple project continuously ongoing in the lab, employing methods such as functional genomics, protein biochemistry, and molecular biology. More information about our research can be found on our website.

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Patrick Giguère, PHD

Substances addressing the opioid receptor system are widely used pharmaceuticals for treatment of chronic pain and addictive disorders. Given the difficulties associated with opioid therapy (overdose, tolerance, addiction, respiratory depression and constipation) there is a need for safer narcotic analgesics. The delta-opioid receptor (δ-OR), a member of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) opioid family, is well described for its role in pain perception and management. Interestingly, in clinical models, it also showed great potential as anti-depressor and also for the treatment of symptoms associated with spasmodic movements in the Parkinson's disease. However, the clinical use of δ-OR agonists is limited due to the generation of potentially life-threatening side effects (e.g. epileptic-like seizures). Therapeutic targeting of GPCR function has been one of the most successful approaches for drug discovery supported by the fact that nearly 50 % of prescribed therapeutics target GPCRs.

Most recently, Dr. Giguère made the discovery that the presence of a sodium ion in a conserved cavity within the δ-OR selectively modulates arrestin recruitment at the receptor. Importantly, accumulating evidence suggests a prominent role of the arrestin-dependent signaling pathway in triggering most of the deleterious effects observed by targeting the opioid system.

Dr. Giguère's research program seeks to:Use pharmacological, biochemical and structural approaches to develop a new level of understanding of opioid receptor molecular recognition, pharmacological and functional selectivity;Drug screening and design of novel functionally selective allosteric modulators of the opioid receptors;GPCR's enhanced tool box by the development of a novel synthetic biology platform and cell-based assay.The ultimate objective of his research is to generate distinct therapeutics that will uniquely modify their pharmacology in a medically meaningful way increasing their therapeutic efficacy with reduced harmful side effects.

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Graduate opportunities available.

Mary-Ellen Harper, PHD

The overall aim of the research projects conducted in the Harper lab is to better understand the control of cellular energy transduction processes in health and disease.

In particular, Dr. Harper's laboratory investigates the metabolic significance and control of uncoupling proteins (UCPs). UCPs are a subfamily of the mitochondrial carrier protein family and are located in the mitochondrial inner membrane. They have been hypothesized to cause a mitochondrial proton leak, and thereby allow protons to return to the mitochondrial matrix, bypassing ATP synthase. Thus energy substrates are oxidized, and the energy is released (or "wasted") as heat, instead of being converted to ATP. The function of such seemingly wasteful processes is a major interest of the lab. The role of uncoupling proteins in protection from reactive oxygen species, and cell death, is an expanding research interest of the laboratory group, and has implications for an improved understanding of cell death and aging processes.

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*Students should be highly motivated, able to undertake self-directed learning, have good problem-solving skills, and able to get along well with others.

Mads Kaern, PHD

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Get hands-on experience with synthetic biology and advanced genetic engineering as a member of the uOttawa DIYBio/Genetically Engineered Machines team. Together with 4-5 other undergraduates working in the lab and 10-15 other team members, you will design and build your own genetically modified organism and possibly compete against other teams in the international Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) competition. The following link is about the team taking a Gold Medal in 2015: http://www.telfer.uottawa.ca/en/latest-news/50-rising-stars/2360-igem-uottawa-wins-a-gold-medal-at-2015-giant-jamboree

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Woo Jae Kim, PHD

Overview of Research Interests:

We are seeking for the fundamental mechanisms how specific neural circuits lead to certain behaviors. We use tiny insect Drosophila melanogaster to answer this question.

Genetics: We are fruit fly behavioural geneticists. We manipulate the genetic components of fly genome to understand their effect on behavioural outcomes. The Drosophila adult is an excellent model system to study circuit mechanisms underlying complex behaviours. The adult Drosophila brain has 1000-fold fewer neurons than mouse brain (~135,000), and those neurons are in stereotyped positions in each animal. This relatively small size of nervous system allows fly geneticists to circuit mapping using powerful genetic tools that enable functional studies of a tiny number of identifiable neurons. The complete set of reagents to manipulate each of the ~14,000 genes in the fly genome for both loss-of-function and gain-of-function are available in the public stock centre with low price. Targeted manipulation of circuits with tight spatial and temporal control is feasible because there exist ~15,000 tissue-specific drivers, RNAi lines that cover ~98% of fly genes, CRISPR resources, and various markers which can visualize the expression pattern and subcellular localization of proteins without antibodies. Using these tools, we can explore the core mechanismsthat governs any types of behaviours that are obscured in the more complicated vertebrate brain.

Behaviour: We study the behaviours of fruit fly. The first behaviour we are investigating is ‘interval timing’. Time is the fundamental dimension for animal’s survival. The animal brain is the result of evolution to orchestrate temporal information across a wide spectrum of time scales. Especially, interval timing is a pivotal function of the human brain to support our cognitive ability such as memory, attention, and decision-making. Interval timing refers to the discrimination of durations in the seconds-to-minutes ranges. The genetic aspects of interval timing have not been vigorously investigated because of the lack of a genetically-traceable model organism. We tackle this question with two novel behavioural paradigms of male Drosophila that fits the current ‘internal clock model’ of interval timing.

Disease: We are interested in establishing human neuronal disease model using fly system. We established glial-mediated ALS/FTD model and actively investigated the effects of human C9orf72 on fly behaviour and neuron-glia interaction. We are active member of ALS Canada. We are pursuing the effect of neuropeptide receptors on neuron-glia interactions, which are related to many neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. My undergraduate students are seeking for the genes that are associated with human rare diseases and will establish the rare disease model in fruit fly.

Evolution: We will establish genetic model organisms beyond Drosophila. With the help of RNAi technology and CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, many researchers started to create new genetic model organisms including ants, honey bees, and many other uninvestigated species. We are interested in eusocial insects to study the genetic basis of their highly organized social structure. We have strong collaborators who are working on eusocial insects in Ottawa region and try building genetic platform with eusocial insects that had never investigated with a genetic toolbox.

Entrepreneurship: We created a strong interdisciplinary collaboration network with many neuroscientists, clinicians, engineers, computer scientists, physicists, and industrial designers. We have several ideas to initiate startup company with our experiences building our original behavioural platforms. We have company partner (Creatrix Design Group) and Biotown (Ottawa Biohacker’s group). Students who want to study and create startup are strongly welcome to apply. We don’t care about your major. You don’t have to be a biologist.

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Jing Wang, PHD

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The discovery of adult neural stem cells residing in the mammalian brain holds great promise for treating devastating brain diseases like stroke. The main focus of the laboratory research is delineating molecular mechanisms that regulate proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells (including both embryonic and adult neural stem cells), with the ultimate goal of defining ways to recruit the stem cells that are resident in the brains of children and adults, and to thereby potentially promote neural repair. We use stroke as a brain disease model to study whether molecular pathways that regulate the recruitment of neural stem cells under pathological conditions could be modulated and utilized to promote brain repair and stroke recovery. A variety of molecular, cellular, and behavioral techniques are used in the laboratory to elucidate novel molecular pathways that regulate neural stem cell behaviors, including transgenic mouse models, neurosphere culture, in utero electroporation and in vivo viral-mediated gene delivery approach. The ongoing project in the lab is defining upstream mediators and downstream effectors of the aPKC-CBP pathway in the regulation of adult neural stem cell behaviors under both physiological and pathological conditions.

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Chemistry & Biomolecular Sciences

Below is a list of researchers from the departement of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences.

R. Tom Baker, PHD

Research in the Bakergroup is focused on sustainability (base metaltandem catalysis, green routes to fluorocarbons, conversionof renewable feedstocks to chemicals and fuels). We introduce students to a wide variety of analytical techniques including those available within the CCRI, Canada's largest multidisciplinary cataysis centre.

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Corrie daCosta, PHD

Dr. daCosta examines structure-function relationships in a class of proteins called ligand-gated ion channels, which are ion-conducting pores embedded in cell membranes. Evolved to convert chemical signals into electrical impulses, ligand-gated ion channels mediate fundamental physiological processes, are implicated in numerous human diseases, and are the targets of a wide variety of drugs. Dr. daCosta seeks to both control ligand-gated ion channel function with chemistry, and to engineer ligand-gated ion channels with unique and useful properties.

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Javier Giorgi, PHD

We study experimentally the processes occurring at the surface of catalysts. We aim to understand structure-reactivity relationships in oxide supported catalysts. Recent research focuses on the study of metals and oxides for catalytic and electrocatalytic applications such as in biomass conversion, solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) or sensors.Research projects can be tailored to focus on: i) nano- and meso- porous materials using traditional laboratory techniques such as mass spectrometry, diffraction and optical spectroscopies; or 2) model systems under ultra high vacuum conditions to study the processes at the molecular level using technique such as photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning probe microscopy.

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Paul M. Mayer, PHD

The research in my lab concerns the mechanisms, kinetics and energetics of gaseous ions. We use a variety of mass spectrometry tools to explore the reactions of ions, from small atmospheric species, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarobons of interest in interstellar and astrochemistry, to polymers, peptides and proteins. We combine experiment and theory (ab initio, density functional theory and molecular dynamics) to create complete pictures of ion chemistry.

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Stephen G. Newman, PHD

The Newman lab utilizes modern tools and technologies to solve long-standing problems in the fields of organic synthesis, organometallics, and green chemistry. Students will develop practical synthetic chemistry skills and utilize state-of-the-art analytical equipment.

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Mathematics & Statistics

Below is a list of researchers from the department of Mathematics and Statistics.

Alistair Savage, PHD

​I study pure mathematics, with a focus on algebra and representation theory. My research investigates these fields using techniques from category theory, geometry/topology, and combinatorics. Each year I accept several undergraduate research students. See my webpage for a more detailed description of possible research areas, and contact me for details on particular projects. Strong past projects have led to published papers.

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Aaron Smith, PHD

​I am an assistant professor in the department of mathematics and statistics at the University of Ottawa. I work primarily in applied probability, with a focus on Markov chain Monte Carlo and related methods from computational statistics or statistical physics. I also do some applied work, in data mining, machine learning, or probability-heavy subjects. I always enjoy talking about research and possible collaborations, so please get in touch if anything here sounds interesting!

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Physics

Below is a list of researchers from the department of Physics.

Jean-Michel Ménard, PHD

Our research group uses ultrafast optical techniques such as time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy to improve the general understanding of quantum interactions in condensed matter. In other words, we rely on lasers and various other optical tools to study the physical origin of some of the most intriguing properties of materials such as superconductivity. Our labs are located in the Advanced Research Complex on the uOttawa campus and are among the most modern infrastructure for optics in Canada.